Pepperdine's standards for academic excellence are recognized internationally and
are met through graduate and undergraduate programs across five schools, cutting-edge
research, and exceptional faculty.

Pepperdine 2020: Boundless Horizons

Strategic Goals

While the mission and vision remain constant, the means to fulfill these aspirations
may change over time. The goals that will guide the University in the next decade
were succinctly articulated by President Andrew K. Benton in his 2010 address entitled
"Boundless Horizons." In that message the president outlined five major themes in
the University's future: (1) advancing learning, knowledge, and scholarship; (2) developing
resources; (3) building community; (4) respecting diversity and promoting global understanding;
and (5) honoring God and heritage. Guided by—and building upon—these five central
themes, the University community commits itself to five strategic goals articulated
in this strategic plan.

In order to determine our progress, these strategic goals will be measured periodically
at the University and unit levels (i.e., by school, division, department, and program).
The schools and other units of the University will, over time, develop individual
strategic plans that support and harmonize with the University Strategic Plan. Every
member of the University community is invited to participate in ongoing conversations
about the University's goals and to help establish numerous specific short-term and
long-term initiatives. The intention, then, is to align the efforts at the school
and operational levels as closely as possible with these strategic goals and to measure
our progress, employing key performance indicators at every step.

Goal 1—Advance student learning and superior scholarship.

We are committed to delivering an exceptional educational experience, for there can
be no great university where there is no great learning. This goal includes the transmission
of the wisdom of the past, as well as the discovery of new knowledge in our day, and
the application of that wisdom and knowledge to a world in need. In short, Pepperdine
will produce graduates able to meet the challenges of the 21st century. This educational
experience will be exemplary, if we:

Attract and support educators devoted to student learning, who are recognized leaders
in their disciplines and accomplished scholars committed to their own research and
that of their students. We will recruit and support scholar teachers who are capable
of going beyond disciplinary boundaries in order to increase the understanding of
a complex world and who employ effective pedagogies that result in measurable achievement.

Attract and support excellent students committed to learning and inspired by our mission.

Continue to build a community devoted to strong ethical behavior, ensuring that this
value is embedded in the curriculum, the cocurriculum, and all institutional practices.

Continue to invest in the University libraries, building collections and improving
facilities to ensure that our libraries excel at providing superior resources and
offering inviting spaces for collaborative learning.

Continue to support an entrepreneurial spirit. Our founder and our benefactors have
been entrepreneurs in inclination and in practice. Given the world's hunger for sustainable
solutions, Pepperdine must inspire others to lead through discovering new ways of
understanding and serving society and the world.

Goal 2—Strengthen our commitment to the faith mission of the University.

George Pepperdine founded the University because he believed that as recipients of
God's favor, we must employ our talents in his service. He said, "This gift of human life and the opportunity which is ours to serve others for a short
time should be regarded as a sacred trust." As a Christian institution of higher learning, we honor the great traditions of scholarship,
research, service, and worship whose roots reach back to the foundations of the first
European universities, which were Christian in origin and mission. Through the ages,
believing and thinking have been considered two dimensions to a single enterprise. Historically, learning
and the love of God and neighbor have been seen as complementary portals leading to
knowledge of the creation and the Creator. In the Christian university then, faith,
hope, and love are not seen as impediments to discovery but as complementary to it.
In the years ahead the University will:

Strengthen its ties to Churches of Christ by reaffirming the University's relationship
to the Church, by renewing the commitment to recruit students from Churches of Christ
and other Christian communions, and by hiring and mentoring staff and faculty from
Churches of Christ and other Christian fellowships.

Enhance the University's outreach to churches through a review of the design of the
annual Bible Lectures and the Office of Church Relations.

Strengthen the various parts of the University concerned with spiritual formation,
including the Center for Faith and Learning, the University chaplaincy, campus ministries,
the Religion Division, the Office of Student Affairs, the Veritas Forum, graduate
student fellowships, and so forth; and encourage greater cooperation among these units.

Support and encourage an integrative scholarship that inspires discipleship, and a
kind of discipleship that leads to rigorous scholarship.

Goal 3—Build meaningful community and enduring alumni loyalty.

Pepperdine's faculty, staff, and students will be known for the quality of their life
together, a life defined by honesty, integrity, civility, and compassion. The calling
to love and care for others will inspire members of the community to practice hospitality
to a profound degree. This kind of learning environment educates the whole person
and inspires lifelong devotion to and deep pride in Alma Mater. In order to fulfill
George Pepperdine's mandate "to continue the widening waves of good citizenship and Christian influence," we must:

Increase alumni ownership of the Pepperdine vision through involvement in service,
connecting graduates with alumni chapters and increasing opportunities for alumni
to meet, mentor, and serve current students and fellow alumni.

Increase the quality of dialogue and sense of community among faculty, staff, students,
alumni, and administration.

Offer excellent career development opportunities that will increase alumni connections
to and appreciation for Alma Mater.

Improve residential life through the new Campus Life Project that will include the
construction of a new residence hall for juniors.

Increase the prominence of athletic programs, construct a new events center, and build
a new student recreation facility—with the aims to develop character, provide enjoyment,
and inspire lasting memories, and alumni loyalty.

Increase the prominence of the arts, including performing, visual, and media arts
programs, to foster the spirit of creativity and ingenuity among Pepperdine students,
artists, alumni, and participants throughout the greater Los Angeles area.

Goal 4—Increase institutional diversity consistent with our mission.

Pepperdine University resides in a culturally diverse metropolis on the Pacific Rim,
with study abroad opportunities in many locations, enjoying affiliations with major
universities around the globe. Just as the first universities were transnational enterprises,
so Pepperdine University intends to be a contemporary expression of such a global,
intellectual community. Furthermore, the Gospel calls us to love justice and to treat
every person with respect and compassion, to affirm in humility that we are finite
beings and therefore limited in knowledge. It is through the inclusion and experience
of others from diverse backgrounds and points of view that we are able to see dimensions
of truth otherwise unavailable to us. Given our geography, our history, and our commitment
to the Gospel, we believe that diversity does not simply enrich the educational endeavor;
it is central to it. Therefore, because we seek to be—and to be known as—a welcoming
community serving local, national, and international communities, we must:

Advance the diversity of the student body, faculty, and staff. This includes increasing
access and enhancing the quality of the campus climate, providing welcoming spaces
and opportunities for building meaningful community.

Educate students for service in diverse settings, whether in local or distant communities,
and encourage all students to participate in a multicultural and/or international
study experience, instilling the conviction that they must be fully engaged citizens
of local communities, as well as responsible members of national and international
communities.

Welcome international students, integrating them into our campus communities, drawing
on their unique experiences and talents, and ensuring their contributions to the rich
tapestry of Pepperdine's culture.

Provide spiritual, intellectual, and material support for students, faculty, and staff
who study or serve abroad.

Model service and leadership within local communities, congregations, and underserved
populations.

Maintain our leadership as one of the most successful institutions in the U.S. in
terms of the number of students who enjoy a study abroad experience.

Goal 5—Develop resources that support the aspiration to be a premier, global Christian
university.

A great vision cannot succeed without the support of talented and committed people
and significant financial support to sustain it. If the University is to attain its
lofty goals, it follows that it must acquire the human and material resources to give
substance to the dream. We must:

Recruit and retain talented students who love the mission of Pepperdine.

Hire, retain, and mentor talented employees who share a love for Pepperdine, its students,
and its mission.

Increase the financial aid available to students and expand loan forgiveness programs.

Successfully complete the "Campaign for Pepperdine," which will provide the financial,
human, and social capital essential for success.

Ensure that each school's enrollment is maintained at sustainable levels, thereby
assuring both the academic quality of students and the tuition revenues necessary
to the fiscal well-being of the schools and the University.

Improve the institution's facilities to match our aspirations. We must build, renovate,
and maintain aesthetic, functional, efficient facilities worthy of a preeminent institution
of higher education. This includes remodeling regional campus facilities and selected
international facilities.

Effectively steward existing financial, capital, and human resources in ways that
support and sustain the University's aspirations. Increase the endowment to place
it among the top 50 university endowments in the U.S.